


Beginning of a Legend

by SideQuestPublications



Series: Majummed [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, League of Assassins - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11668911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SideQuestPublications/pseuds/SideQuestPublications
Summary: What happened to Leonard Snart when the particle accelerator exploded, and why doesn't he remember it?





	1. A Rock and a Hard Place

**Author's Note:**

> Ficlet ties in to my Flash Sideways story-verse and the League of Assassins fic "Majummed."  
> Pre-Flashpoint, takes place during the night of and the morning after the particle accelerator explosion. (So December 11-12, 2013.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see Leonard Snart's perspective of the particle accelerator explosion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'll note I kinda cheated here... I'd only seen bits and pieces of the Flash S3E4 "New Rogues" prior to coming up with this particular version of events, and while certain things only required slight editing after a Netflix binge (the actual fight scene, for instance), the getaway car had completely escaped my notice. And my version of events required Len to look for an escape route that didn't involve driving off...  
> Also the snow. But if Barry could be struck by lightning so far from the actual explosion, and that without the actual particle cloud hitting him, then is an unnatural blizzard on the other side of town really a stretch?
> 
> All characters seen or mentioned copyright DC, CW, etc.

_December 21, 2013, Central City, warehouse district_

"Well, if you're out..."

Leonard sneered at the idiots in front of him. He no longer cared which one had botched this latest job, whose stupid idea it had been to spend that money while the cops were still on their trail. He was beyond tired of these two constantly putting his crew in jeopardy. He should've taken care of the problem before the heist— _would've_  done, if he hadn't been preoccupied—but if they wanted to keep making the same mistakes together, then they could face the consequences together.

Permanently.

"You're out." Leonard whipped out his pistol.

Sam rushed in to twist his arm around and force him to drop the weapon. The two traded blows as the fight became a race to see who could retrieve the gun first.

Leonard spared a quick glance for Rosa—she was handling herself well against two of his thugs—before he returned his attention to his own pitiful opponent and sent Sam crashing into the mirror.

 _A pity, really_. She could've been good for the team, better than Sam could even dream of being, if she'd only learned to follow the rules.

But first things first. Leonard walked over to where he'd dropped his pistol.

"No!" Rosa screamed. She ran to reach her boyfriend, but one of the thugs caught up with her and held her fast.

Leonard ignored her. He strolled back to where Sam lay, stunned from the landing, and leaned over to touch his pistol to the man's forehead. "You lost, Scudder," he snarled.

"Sam!" Rosa cried.

Before Leonard could pull the trigger, a flash of light made him look up, wary for new threats.

His eyes widened at the explosion visible outside.

"Go," he whispered. " _Go!_ "

Leon took three steps in the direction of the door, then turned back for Rosa. Leonard shook his head and waved the other man on. Let those two face this together... whatever  _this_  was. If they survived this, then so be it; he would let them live.

But only until they crossed him again.

" _Shit!_ " Leonard snarled. Their getaway driver was already speeding away from the warehouse.

"Now what?" Leon asked. He had to shout to be heard above the wind.

"Sam's parked around the corner!" Leonard replied. In the direction of the explosion.

Leon's eyes widened, but he nodded and ducked into the alley to find Sam's car.

Off in the distance, a plane exploded in midair. Leonard froze at the sight of the fireball large enough to see even at this distance.

That hesitation was the only thing that saved him. He scrambled back into the loading bay as the getaway car sailed through the spot where he  _would_  have been standing if he'd followed Leon, and watched it crunch into the alley.

Behind the tangle of metal rushed a wall of snow that left the lot in a complete whiteout. Leonard couldn't see  _anything_  in that mess.

_What the hell is going on?_

The loading bay sloped below ground level, easily low enough to protect him from the worst of the debris. But it quickly filled with snow, and he was buried to his knees before he took another step.

He stumbled along, throwing out his arms to search for something,  _anything_  that resembled shelter. It wasn't that cold out—the weather had been mild all week—but it felt like every grain of snow in the city swirled around him, robbing him of his senses and leaving him disoriented and confused. He gave a sigh of relief as a lull in the storm, sparse shelter provided by the side of the building, finally allowed him to examine his surroundings again.

But his relief was short-lived. Somehow he had stumbled into the district's cooling pond. The ice managed to hold him up despite the warmth below, but for how long?

_CRACK!_

Leonard whimpered. Whatever strangeness was happening behind him, if he fell through the ice, he would be done for.

He slid one foot slowly back...

_CR-CRACK!_

Another slow, careful step... The ice thinned as he approached the shallows.

_CRACKCRACKCRACK_

How close was the shore? He risked a look over his shoulder, but he still couldn't make out any details. The only thing he could see clearly was the wall of fire rushing down on him.

"Goodbye, Lisa," he whispered as he closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't quite decide whether to go to Lisa's perspective or cut straight to Len waking up and wondering what the hell just happened. Ending the chapter here gives me a bit more room to decide while still allowing me to actually begin this thing, though it will, naturally, wreak havoc on any efforts at maintaining a consistent chapter length.
> 
> Linked fics:  
> Len's preoccupation alluded to in Flash Sideways chapter 2 (well, Lisa's theory for that preoccupation ;) ), but the actual nature of that preoccupation will be given more clearly in League of MacGuffins... and maybe in another alternate continuity whenever I decide where I'm going with that particular fic.


	2. Lost Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lisa waits up and worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters seen or mentioned copyright DC, CW, etc.

Lisa continued to stare at the phone, but it remained dark.

"Where  _are_  you?"

Leonard had called to tell her he had a situation with Scudder, and that he'd return with the loot in an hour.

That had been more than three hours ago. Then there was that explosion in the middle of town, and then... nothing.  _Power outage friendly, my ass!_  She should at least be able to call for emergency services, but she couldn't even get a damn error message!

She laughed nervously. "I'm so stupid," she muttered. "If I can't call him, of  _course_  he can't call me." That had to be it. He just couldn't reach her because of whatever had happened, and was laying low somewhere to wait it out.

More likely, he was taking the long way home. He wouldn't want to stay away from her for long in this mess, not without some way to get in touch with her.

He'd probably be tired when he got back. And hungry. Lisa abandoned the phone and started searching for supplies.

She had just lit a couple of candles and was searching the attic for Leonard's old camp stove, when an odd sound made her pause.

She froze, hardly daring to breathe, and listened.

_scritch...scritch_

Something was scratching at the door below her.

She crept towards the window and peered out. It was hard to make anything out in the darkness, but she was certain some of the shadows were moving.

An animal, maybe. Or a tree branch.

Or an intruder.

She gave up the search for the stove, checked the gun in her waistband, and picked up a heavy flashlight—still useless as a light, but it would serve quite nicely as an extra weapon. Once armed, she snuck down the stairs, ready to defend herself if whatever was lurking around out there got inside.

_scritch.... scritch.... crr.....CRUNCH!_

The door swung open, but nothing was visible in the darkness.

Lisa crept forward.

The darkness moved.

It walked inside, and the door slammed shut behind it.

Lisa realized with growing terror that what she had taken for a couple of stars were the thing's  _eyes_ , eyes such a vivid blue they fairly glowed in the tiny light given off by her candles.

She considered her gun, decided she'd never be able to aim properly in the candlelight, and swung the flashlight before the thing could take another step.

She bit off a yelp at the burn of frozen metal in her bare hand.

The thing dropped Lisa's flashlight and turned to face her. Its eyes flashed in the candlelight, revealing....

" _Lenny?_  Oh, my god, Lenny, don't  _scare_  me like that! I thought you were...."

Leonard simply brushed past her.

She shivered at the chill that emanated from him. "Lenny? Lenny!"

But Leonard walked upstairs without showing any sign that he'd heard. The doorknob clattered down the steps behind him.

Lisa shook her head. "Not like before," she whispered. "It's not like before. It can't be."

She took a deep breath and forced herself to go upstairs to continue gathering supplies.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Lisa gives her big brother a piece of her mind.
> 
> "And use the key I gave you instead of picking the lock. For once in your life."..."At least you didn't break it this time."  
> "I've told you fifty-seven times already, that was Mick."  
> Sure it was, Len. Just keep telling yourself that. :D (Though I'm sure Mick's broken off the knob before...)
> 
> Linked fics:  
> The "before" that Lisa is so worried about was explained in Flash Sideways, alluded to as a severe illness of Len's in assorted other fics, and will actually occur in What Could Have Been.


	3. Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Len is feeling (somewhat) like himself again, and Lisa is irritated at his recent behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters seen or mentioned copyright DC, CW, etc.

When Leonard woke, it wasn't because of the sunlight streaming in through the windows, or the birdsong, or even the realization he was in a bed. He recognized Lisa's favorite safe house, though he had no memory of reaching it last night.

Not even the voices murmuring downstairs were enough to disturb him.

No, what forced him awake was the smell that made his stomach growl and soured his appetite at the same time. A peculiar combination of half-burned meat and fully-burned alcohol.

Leonard groaned. What the hell was Lisa cooking?

He rolled out of bed, and started shaking the instant the covers were off. Little wonder that he was freezing; he was still wearing his clothes from the heist, all but his missing shoes, but everything was soaking wet!

Lisa would never have let him go to bed in such a state. Had something happened to her last night? Why couldn't he  _remember_?

_In through the nose...._

Hard to say whether he was hyperventilating due to hypothermia or a panic attack.

_Hold for three...._

He was so dizzy....

_Out through the mouth...._

He'd never be able to protect her until he got his panic under control.

He finally pushed himself, shaking, from the floor, and braced himself against the bedpost until the room stopped spinning.

_I am not sick!_

Well, maybe he was, but it was only from the cold... not at all like those other times.

It  _couldn't_  be like those other times.

He grabbed for his pistol—useless as a gun until everything dried, but he could still beat someone with it if he had to—and crept down the stairs as quietly as he could manage.

It felt like he put his feet down into every single puddle as he went, soaking through his already-wet socks and thoroughly numbing his feet.

Somehow he made it downstairs without incident to find....

Lisa, huddled over an old camp stove and watching the news.

Leonard stared at the scene, waiting for his heart to stop racing, before he flopped down into the couch with a sigh.

Lisa shrieked at the sound and whirled around.

The fear in her eyes swiftly changed to anger. " _Lenny!_  Get off the couch! Go on, get back upstairs, and don't let me see you again until you're dry!"

Leonard's mouth dropped open. "I... But... I... thought..."

" _Get out!_ "

"Yes, ma'am," Leonard mumbled before fleeing back upstairs as quickly as his dizziness would let him.

—MAJUMMED—

Leonard returned to the living room ten minutes later, clad in the thick pajamas he'd found folded near the bed. A hot shower would have been nice, but simply being  _dry_  did wonders to warm him up.

If only he could cool Lisa's temper as easily.

" _You're_  doing laundry," Lisa snapped when she saw him. "I don't care if you have to take it to the river and wash everything by hand, you are  _not_  growing mold all over my house!"

She shoved a mug at him, nearly spilling it, and ripped into an MRE for herself.

Leonard nodded meekly, sipping at the broth she'd given him, as he decided on a safe response. She was pissed off about him getting everything wet; even a moron could see that much. A domestic goddess she was not, but she took the idea of a proper home very seriously.

But why  _was_  he so wet? What happened last night?

"I was afraid something had happened to you," he finally whispered.

Lisa snorted. "Why would you think that?" she asked, her voice softer than he'd expected.

Leonard shrugged. "The Lisa I know would never have let me go to bed looking like that. Not in her own home, anyway."

He glanced up in time to see the fury return to her face.  _Wrong answer!_

" _Let_  you? You broke in here and walked right by me like I didn't even exist! What the hell makes you think I  _let_  you do anything?"

Leonard's mouth dropped further with every word.

"I don't remember that," he said.

"Bullshit. You never forget  _anything_."

"Lisa, I swear, I have  _no memory_  of any of that!" he protested. "I don't even know how I made it back here!"

He hadn't wanted to admit that to her, didn't want her to see how much it frightened him. But if he was starting to experience these blackouts around her, she had to know the truth.

Lisa peered at him. Slowly her scowl faded, and her eyes widened. "You really mean that, don't you? You don't remember last night at all?"

He shook his head. "Not really."

"What  _do_  you remember?"

Leonard shrugged. "The heist. Going after Scudder. I nearly got him, but there was some kind of explosion outside... I couldn't make it to the car, so I tried to outrun the thing. I ended up on this frozen pond out behind the warehouse. I don't think the ice was very thick; last I knew I could hear it cracking under me."

"And you fell in."

"I guess...." Leonard said. He must have; there was no other explanation for why everything was so wet.

Lisa frowned. "You  _hate_  guessing."

"I am telling you, I  _don't remember_. But I know... There was no way I was going to get off the ice and still outrun that explosion. I'd expected to die last night. I was worried about who would protect you." He shivered. "You don't suppose I... I'm not getting sick again?"

Lisa was silent for far longer than he liked. "No," she finally said. "You've never been like this... before." She shook her head. "You'll probably have hypothermia after falling through the ice. I shouldn't be surprised that you're a little confused right now; everything will be clearer once you've recovered. You'll just have to take it easy for a while."

Leonard wished he could share her confidence. Lisa knew about the hallucinations, after all. She knew far better than he did what he was like when he got really sick.

But this was the first she knew about the blackouts.

He looked around, searching for an excuse to change the subject, and his gaze settled on the camp stove. "I thought we got rid of that monstrosity," he murmured.

" _You_  got rid of it," Lisa corrected. "Mick returned it. Good thing, too. With the power outage—"

"Power outage?" Leonard echoed. He glanced at the TV, which was still playing the news. He lifted one eyebrow.

She flushed. "Oh, shut up, you jerk! It came back on a few minutes before you got up. But since I'd gone to the trouble of finding that old thing, I thought it'd be easier to make breakfast this way."

"You know it's not safe to use them indoors," he added.

"You  _have_  been outside recently," she reminded him.

He shrugged. "So, this explosion I saw...." He glanced at the TV again. "I don't suppose anyone's noticed it?"

" _Noticed_  it? It's all over the news! They haven't stopped talking about it."

Leonard's other eyebrow lifted to join the first.

"What, you thought it just happened over by you?" Lisa continued.

He  _had_  thought... But no, there was that airplane that had crashed in the distance. Had that been from the same explosion?

"Nuh-uh," Lisa continued. "They're saying it came from Star Labs."

"Hmm..." Leonard drained the rest of his broth and flopped down in front of the TV, only shifting slightly to let Lisa wrap a blanket around him.

"...total has risen to nine known to be dead," the reporter was saying. "More are missing and presumed dead. Among the injured..."

"Think dad's one of them?" Lisa asked.

"We should be so lucky," Leonard muttered. "I could always find out."

"Not until you're better," Lisa ordered.

"Yes, ma'am."

"...including CCPD's own Barry Allen..." the reporter continued.

Leonard sat up straighter.

"It is unknown, as yet, whether he is likely to wake up. This tragedy marks him as one more of far too many victims of this accident."

Lisa glanced at her brother. "You know him?"

"I'm not sure," Leonard replied, "but I think that's Henry's kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end of "Beginning of a Legend."  
> If you'd been on chapter 1 before the edits, I was originally doing "Majummed" all in a single story. But then I decided that since the next segment doesn't take place until the Legends investigate Harmony Falls and I really didn't feel like doing that massive of a time-skip or writing Len's entire life to that point... breaking it up into multiple "stories" works out better for me.  
> So keep an eye out for Catalyst or have a look at the Work in Progress that is Alternate Universe if you want to see more in this story-verse. Or keep an eye out for the Majummed (Earth One) character bio on my deviantArt page, SideQuestPubs, if you want to see more of the backstory that separates the character of Majummed from official canon.
> 
> Linked fics:  
> Once again, the previous illnesses that Len and Lisa are so worried about was explained in Flash Sideways, alluded to as a severe illness of Len's in assorted other fics, and will actually occur in What Could Have Been. The blackouts, however, are exclusive to the Majummed story-verse.  
> Why the fact of Barry being Henry's kid is the least bit important to Len is mentioned in passing in Flash Sideways, Enemy of My Enemy, and in the Time May Change Me/Changes story-verse and receives a little more focus in Alternate Universe, but is explained within the Reverse Flash timeline of What Could Have Been.


End file.
